Kasab’s Birthday Is Sept. 13: Mumbai Police

India Real Time has previously written that in the wake of attacks on Mumbai on Wednesday, the date of the birthday of a jailed terrorist who participated in a previous set of attacks on Mumbai in 2008 became a matter of debate.

Many newspapers speculated that the recent blasts, above, might have occurred on July 13 because this was Ajmal Kasab’s birthday.

But Mumbai’s top anti-terror policeman told a Wall Street Journal reporter late Thursday that this was not true.

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Mr. Maria was brought in to head the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Mumbai police in the wake of the 2008 attacks, when 10 gunmen held several sites across Mumbai hostage for three days, resulting in over 160 deaths.

Ajmal Kasab, who attacked the city’s main train station and was captured alive, was the lone survivor. Last year an Indian court convicted him on multiple charges, including murder and waging war on India, and sentenced him to death. He is currently in jail in Mumbai as his appeals process wends its way through the courts.

As someone who was in charge of the 2008 attacks investigation and who has interrogated Mr. Kasab multiple times, Mr. Maria would be in a position to lay speculation about the date to rest. He says Mr. Kasab’s birthday falls on Sept. 13.

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India Real Time offers analysis and insights into the broad range of developments in business, markets, the economy, politics, culture, sports, and entertainment that take place every single day in the world’s largest democracy. Regular posts from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires reporters around the country provide a unique take on the main stories in the news, shed light on what else mattered and why, and give global readers a snapshot of what Indians have been talking about all week. You can contact the editors at indiarealtime(at)wsj(dot)com.